The willows and the monadnock had always felt temporary to the shadow. A change of leadership and an uncertain future had compelled the Archer to seek other options. At first he had wanted to seek out Kyna sooner, seeking refuge in the bend, but an unexpected turn of events had driven Greer north. Initially his stay at the rock was supposed to be brief. Help his sister and the silver spider establish the pack, wait for Morganna to give birth, and then seek out the strawberry blond. His stay only lengthened as he grew more comfortable and he toyed with the idea of bringing Kyna north. He knew, however, that she would never abandon her mountains. And the thought of the distance growing between them did not sit well with the lanky shadow.

His sister had been the one to encourage him to go south, to find his mountain girlfriend. Greer knew that his absence from Whitestone wasn’t supposed to be permanent and that Morganna wanted him to bring Kyna home with him. But here, with the aurora shining overhead and the crisp mountain air filling his lungs, his dark fur entwined with the redhead at his side, this was home. The home he never knew he wanted.

His tail curled high above his back as the redhead took the centre of the group, his mercury gaze never once wavering from her russet frame. He did not hesitant in joining her song, their song, his black nose pointed to the sky as the sound of the Aurora Heights wolves danced with the lights overhead. The mountain now belonged to them and Greer would do everything to ensure their position was not threatened. He had never desired the spotlight—and even now he still wanted to shy away from it, seeking refuge in the shadows that consumed him—but he knew he needed to do this. For Kyna. For him.